


Play the fool (And flowers bloom in your lungs)

by ElleKing27



Category: IZONE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, fluffier than you think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 08:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18465448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElleKing27/pseuds/ElleKing27
Summary: Kim Minjoo and Kim Chaewon met each other in the worst way possible. The worst it can get in high school anyway. And now, they hate each other. (They don't)OrWhere Minjoo loves to mess with the older girl, and Chaewon isn't as straight as she thought she was.





	Play the fool (And flowers bloom in your lungs)

**Author's Note:**

> It took me 2 days of nonstop writing to make this. send help.
> 
> Also, this is for Jiro. My child, you're finally getting your content.
> 
> Follow me on twitter! @cheesyisthyname :D

//

1.

It all started in the second year of high school. When a bright-eyed first-year bumps into snarky second-year Kim Chaewon at the cafeteria.

It was an accident really. You were minding your own business when some first-year kid sends you flying. You land a few meters away from your table and it _hurt_. You knew you were light. How else did you get to be one of the flyers in the team? But you weren't _that_ light.

It was nearing game season, which means cheering season. You don't want to think about what would happen if you were to get injured. You try to stand up to check yourself, and a hand helps you up. You take it. There are apologies being spewed out, but honestly, you're not listening. Too busy checking for injuries on yourself. Thank god there isn't any. Well, except the one on your but. Which, _ow_.

Not to mention that your skirt is ruined now. It touched the cafeteria's floor and god knows how dirty it is. Now that you think about it, you also touched it with your hands. _Soap_. You are going to need _so_ much soap after this. Ugh, at least your off-shoulder top didn't get food on it. It was pretty expensive you'll have her know.

"I'm really sorry! My friends were playing around and I got—" the kid immediately stops talking when you give her the hand. You already had a bad day with your boyfriend dumping you. But now this shit happens and you are just about done with your day.

"I don't care what you and your dumb friends were doing." You try to glare down on her, but it proves to be difficult when the girl is taller than you. Somehow, it annoys you even more. You stab a finger to her chest. "But you are annoying me, and I would _highly_ appreciate it if you shut up and get the fuck out of my sight."

The girl looks bewildered. You pay no attention to that, and just continue to grumble to yourself.

"Fucking first-years. Ruining everything."

At that, the girl frowns and crosses her arms.

"Hey, I said sorry, didn't I? You don't have to be so rude about it."

You are already known for having a short temper. Not to mention that your parents own a big company. No one dares to mess with you. If Kim Chaewon tells you to fuck off, you get the hell out of there. But this girl snapped back at you, and honestly, you're pretty surprised. Some band kid—judging from the hoodie—just talked back at you? 

"Rude?” You raise an eyebrow. "You're the rude one here, dumbass! Just be fucking grateful that I didn't get injured! Do you know what would happen if I did?"

"What?" the girl scoffs and glares back at you.

“Since you seem to be lacking some brain cells, I'll enlighten you. I would've had to sit out cheer practice or even worse! The actual games! And not to mention my clothes! If this top gets a fucking stain on it, I swear to god—"

The girl rolls her eyes.

"Did you roll your fucking eyes at me?” You step closer into her space. Intimidating her. It doesn't work though. The girl does the same and towers over you.

"Problem, bitch?” She hisses at you.

"Oh, I got a problem alright," you scowl. You voice laced with venom. You stand on your toes to get further in her space. "How dare you do that to me? I'll have you know that I—"

"Okay! That's it!" A hand pushes both of you away from each other. You snap your head to look at the culprit. It's Hyewon. Your cousin and best friend. You love her dearly, but right now you hate her. Why the fuck did she stop you?

"The fuck, Hye?” You snap at her.

"Chaewon, you know that I love you. But shut the fuck up right now." Hyewon scolds you.

You scowl at her before going back to glaring at the tall first-year. Your eyes land on the band logo. Fucking great. Now, you'll have to see her face at every game.

"Let's all just calm down and get on with our days, yes?" Hyewon looks back and forth between the two of you. She then faces the first-year properly. "I'm sorry about her. She's had a bad day."

"Whatever," the girl scoffs before walking away from you.

You grit your teeth. Glaring at her back in the meanwhile. You swear to God. If only looks could kill. You don't stop until Hyewon catches your attention again. She tugs on your arm and pulls you back to the table. A disapproving look on her face. You say nothing and look away. Your knuckles white.

"Well, that was intense," Chaeyeon remarks with a whistle.

"What were you doing, Chaewon?" Hyewon frowns at you. "Fighting with a first-year like that?"

“She was annoying," you huff out. Hyewon sighs.

"I'm pretty sure you guys were like two seconds away from fighting each other." Yena worries about you. "You okay though?"

"I'm fine," you grumble. They all look skeptically at you.

"You sure?" Chaeyeon asks you. 

"I'm _fine_. So, drop it," you snap at them. You throw them one last glare before looking away. Resting your head on your hand, you huff.

You are so pissed right now. Regardless of your already shitty day, that kid was _so_ annoying. You honestly just want to slap her across the face. So, you proceed to kill the kid in multiple different ways in your mind. And then you make a decision. For the games this season, you _definitely_ will not look at the audience. More specifically, the far-right section of the audience. It's where the band sits during the games. 

You would rather not get pissed during your routine.

(

You later find out that the tall first-year's name is Kim Minjoo. The fact that both of you have the same last somehow irks you even more. And you don't know how she finds out about it. But every time you meet her, she would—without failure—call you Kim.

And you just want to slap the smug look from her face every time she says it. Speak of the devil, Lucifer is here.

"Yo, Kim!” She leans on the locker next to yours. You scowl at her and her smile only widens. You roll your eyes at her.

“Stop calling me that, _Kim_ ," you hiss. Venom dripping down your words.

"Do you prefer being called Princess?” She smirks and you have half a mind to shove your books up her face. "Your Highness? Your Majesty? M'lady?"

"I would _prefer_ ," you loudly close your locker shut. Your knuckles white from gripping the handle. "if you would _fuck off_ , Frog."

"Didn't the Princess kiss the frog though?"

"Oh my god, shut up!"

(As you walk down the streets hours after school had ended, your eyes find a flower shop. You see the white carnations on display. And suddenly you hear her laughter ringing in your ears again. It pisses you off again. It pisses you off so much that it gets harder to breathe.

You hate her so much.)

)

//

2.

Kim Minjoo has a few things that she can be proud of. One of the things is being able to come up with new pick-up lines every day. One could argue that it's a lame thing to be proud of, but you would beg the differ. Not when you see the reaction she gives you.

It's definitely not lame.

You grin when you see her walking down the hallway. Perfect. Just in time for the daily pick-up line. Admittedly, today's line wasn't originally yours, but it's perfect. You can't wait to see her reaction. You don't remember how it started—probably when you first said the princess and frog line a year ago—but you certainly know why you keep doing it.

Fixing your baseball cap, you hasten your pace to catch up with her. But then you catch yourself in the reflection of the trophy cases out on the hallway. You check yourself. A black hoodie and the usual ripped jeans. Your hoodie is a bit askew though. Chaewon had lectured you at one point about it, and you don't really want to repeat the fifteen-minute lecture again. So, you fix it.

(

"And what the hell are you wearing anyway?" Chaewon motions at your hoodie. The two of you were bickering about something again—you don't remember—when she suddenly starts attacking your fashion sense. You frown and cross your arms feeling defensive about it.

"What's wrong with my hoodie?” You furrow your eyebrows. "You have a vendetta against hoodies or something?"

"No, but that literally the only thing you wear!” She huffs at you. "At least wear a fashionable one! They're all so plain!"

"Well, I like it! Plus, it's comfortable!” You scoff. "Not everyone likes to buy branded clothes, Princess."

You see her visibly getting red as she practically growls at you. She grabs the collar of your hoodie and pulls you down to her level. You know she's trying to intimidate you, but to be honest, it feels like being threatened by a cupcake.

“Stop calling me that," she hisses at you.

"What? Princess?” You smirk at her.

She only glares at you harder. You meet her gaze squarely. She doesn't scare you. Then she pushes you away—hard—and you stumble a few steps backward. Your back hits the lockers, and that actually pisses you off. You want to tell her off about it. But she walks away from you.

"Hey!” You call out to her angrily. "Fuck where you going!"

"Class, dumbass.” She gives you her middle finger, and you just want to break her finger.

"We're not done here!” You stomp your way to her.

"Yes, we are." Her eyebrows raised. "At least fix your hoodie before class, loser."

)

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you realize that what made Chaewon shove you towards the lockers wasn't because of your clothes. But you fix it anyway. You don't really want to know what it means, and you don't want to know. You shove those thoughts back to deep recesses of your mind.

Deeming yourself proper, you go back to your original mission. One problem though. You don't see Chaewon anywhere. The hallways are filled with students, yet you don't spot the familiar head of orange hair anywhere. You hurry your steps to where you last saw her. And keep on moving in that direction.

It opens up a problem though when the hallway intersects another one. Which way did she go? Think Kim Minjoo. Think. You logic it out. Classes just ended. That means she would have to go to cheer practice next. Which means that she probably at the side exit from the main building. Great job, now you just need to catch her before she gets to the locker room. You can't do anything anymore at that point. Well, you could wait till she finishes practice, but you rather not.

At this point, you're not really sure why you're so adamant on doing this. But yet again, you push those thoughts away. You shouldn't wonder things that are reserved for sleepless nights.

You hasten your pace even more. You expertly dodge every student in the hallways. After two years in this school, you've become used to how things work here.

You step outside of the main building and see the orange hair swaying in the wind. It's spring. It's been a lot winder lately. You sometimes wonder how she could stand it with the thin clothes she wears. But you suppose the weather is warm.

You shake your head. Whatever. It doesn't matter to you.

Catching up to her, you tap her shoulder. A grin already on your face. It only widens when you see the scowl on her face once she realizes it's you. Chaewon rolls her eyes and continues her way to the gym. You walk ahead of her and walk backward to face her.

"I swear to god. One of these days you're going to fall down and hit your head," Chaewon scoffs at your behavior. "You're going to die from a concussion."

"Aw, does the Princess worry about me?” You mockingly coo at her. She only hisses at you.

"I for one will be glad that at least one trash was cleaned from this world."

"You hurt me, Princess." You bring a hand to your chest and pretend to have been shot. She just stares blankly at you. You laugh. "Wanna know something?"

"If this is one of your lame pick-up lines, then no.” She stops in her place and crosses her arms. So, you stop too.

"Do you know what your gay name is?” You ignore her.

"I'm straight, dumbass."

"Well, I'm not." You laugh when she rolls her eyes. You continue anyway. "It's your first name," you pause for dramatic effect. "and my last name together."

"You," she facepalms and sighs heavily at you. "you realize the problem with that?"

"What?” You try to keep yourself from laughing too hard. You wonder if she had seen the meme. Because it's hilarious to you that she would answer the exact same thing.

"We have the same last name, dumbass."

You snort at that before exclaiming, "Exactly!"

"Oh my _God_ , you're such a fucking loser.” She quickly walks past you. At this point, you're just cackling from the joke. Once you've calmed down, you catch up with her again. You bump her shoulder. She brushes her shoulder as if you had dirtied it.

"Oh, come on!” You chuckle. "You gotta admit it was pretty funny, Princess."

She stops again and faces you. You do the same and wait for her response.

“Stop! Calling! Me! That!” She stabs you repeatedly on your chest. It pisses you off a bit. Cause _ow_ that hurts. You rub the spot. Hoping to soothe the pain.

"What? It suits you, _Princess_." This time you say the nickname with a bite to it.

"What does that mean?” She glares at you.

"It means that you have a superiority complex, Princess." You glare back. "Be honest with me, you think you're above everyone. Am I right?"

"Bitch, you don't even know me," Chaewon hisses. She grips the collar of your hoodie. You grab the hand so she wouldn't be able to push you away this time.

"I know enough." You glower down at her. Your previous good mood has completely disappeared. Chaewon always makes you so mad. You don't even know why you still bother her every day. But you do and now you're more mad at yourself than you are at her. Because now that you're so close, you can see the sadness behind her eyes from your words. And you're starting to hate yourself again.

Why can't you just stay away from her?

Words of apologies are already on the tip of your tongue. But they don't come out. They never come out. You wonder why it came out so easily the first time you met. But they stubbornly stay in when it actually matters. Not saying that those apologies at their first meeting didn't matter. You were really worried back then about the then pretty sophomore. She's still pretty—not that you would admit it—but she's a junior now. But it's different though. Because back then it was for something stupid, and you know that your hurt her right now.

You know she hates it when people assume things about her. The number of times you've seen her snap back at some people who gossip about her is enough of an indication. You don't know why it bothers her so much, but you do know that it hurts her. And if we're being honest here, you hate it when she's hurt. Again, you don't know why.

You urge your mouth to open and say something. Anything. Just say that you were lying for fuck's sake. You made that stupid nickname just because she looked like one anyway. Just tell her the truth Kim Minjoo! God damn it!

Then her grip on your collar loosens. The only reason it still hangs there is because you are still holding her arm. You notice her gaze isn't on you anymore. It's at a place behind you. So, you look behind, and you wish you didn't. Because— _holy shit_ —you are way, _way_ angrier now and it's not because of yourself.

You look back at her and you feel your heart dropping to your stomach. Your right hand—the one that's not holding her arm—clenches tightly until the knuckles are white. You are going to _kill_ Jeon Baekyeon.

He’s Chaewon's new boyfriend—well, newest. They've been dating for a few months now. And as far as you know, Chaewon is absolutely smitten with him. You always make a gagging sound whenever you're near them being lovey-dovey just to annoy the older girl. But you liked him enough. He was a nice enough guy, and he helped you out a few times.

 _Not anymore_.

You just saw him shoving his tongue down a girl's throat. A girl that's _not_ Chaewon. You feel your jaw tighten. At least be less conspicuous God damn it! Why the fuck did he decided to cheat on his girlfriend right in the _damn_ open?! You want to go up to him and just fucking deck him in the face. But you have another thing to worry about first.

Chaewon is still here, and she saw. Her face pale and her body shaking. You feel even more hatred towards the bastard. Unclenching your right hand, you gingerly hold her other arm. She looks like she's about to fall down at any time now. You move your body to the right. Blocking her view of it. She snaps her eyes towards you.

"Chaewon—"

"Don't say anything," she quickly says. Her eyes are shut, and her words come out shaky. "Please don't say anything."

You're at a loss. You don't know what to do. There are silent tears coming down from her eyes and you don't know how to stop them. You've comforted people before, but you don't know how to comfort her. She told you not to talk. You want to hug her but you're not sure if she'll appreciate that. You feel so powerless and you hate it.

You need to distract her. You quickly think of a way and it's stupid and you know that she'll probably hate it. But you need her to stop thinking about him, and this is really the only way you can figure out how to do it. You release your hold on her arms, and quickly pick her up. You carry her away from the scene. You doubt she could've walked anyway.

She's too shocked to do anything about it and stays still throughout. But she does hold on to your shoulders with a death grip. And whispers threats about what would happen if you drop her, but otherwise says nothing else.

You take her to the place under the bleachers. It's usually a place reserved for hormonal teenagers. But you know a place where no one goes to. So, you take her there.

There's already a picnic cloth set down on the ground. Attesting to how frequently you go here. You carefully sit down on it so that it wouldn't shake the girl in your arms. She looks at you confused because you still haven't let go of her. So, she just sits there on your lap sideways.

"Didn't think you would want to sit on the dirty cloth, Princess." You shrug nonchalantly. But you immediately want to take back your words when you see how she winces at your words. _Right_ , you still need to fix that misunderstanding.

Her tears had stopped on the way here, but some of them remain. You don't know where you get the courage from—but you wipe them away with your thumb. She doesn't look too disgruntled about it. Thinking about it, why does she let you do anything you're doing right now? Whatever, you're just glad that she lets you do it.

"I'm sorry," you softly say with a frown. "I didn't mean what I said earlier."

"What're you talking about?" Her voice cracks and something in you cracks along with it.

"About the princess thing. I don't actually think you have a superiority complex or anything bad like that." You scratch your head in embarrassment. Should you really tell her the next part? Oh, fuck it, you've already gone this far. "I just made the nickname cause you looked like one."

"What?” She looks at you bewildered. And you feel your ears getting hot. Does she really want you to explain it? God, why? But you'll do it anyway. Because it seems to be distracting her from him. And you really don't want her to be thinking of that dirty bastard right now.

"You look like one. A princess." You look away from her. You don't think you can stand to look at her right now. "That's why I call you that."

She doesn't say anything, and you wonder if you said anything wrong. But you know you didn't. You guess she's just way too surprised to say anything. You can't blame her. The girl she hates suddenly says this. It's the truth though.

"You can't blame me." You shrug. Still not looking at her. "You're beautiful."

You decide to look at the trees in the distance instead. The flowers are already in full bloom. You spot a red flower on one of the closer trees. You wonder what it's called. But then you hear her laugh softly in your arms. And the only thing you can wonder about now is: Why are the flowers suddenly in your lungs? You can't breathe. The air hitches on your throat.

You look at her and see the smile on her face. You can breathe again. But you smell mint and it's weird cause you were expecting flowers instead. It's not a bad thing though. You like mint too. Because Chaewon smells like mint too and—oh.

_Oh._

(

A few days later, she finds you at your spot. Slumped against the box you had moved there—you wanted something to rest your back against. She is absolutely fuming once she reaches you. You already know why she's angry.

"Kim Minjoo!” She angrily shouts at you. Stomping her feet in the all the while. Again a cupcake. It hurts to smile but you do it anyway.

"Princess." You languidly wave a hand to her. "Nice of you to visit me today. I haven't said the pick-up line of the day, have I?"

She has none of whatever bullshit you're spewing out now and glares hard at you.

"What? No, 'dumbass' or 'loser' or 'frog'?” You smile stupidly at her. Again, it hurts, but you don't care. And she just scowls at you.

"What the fuck were you thinking? He's twice your size, Minjoo!” She shouts. You immediately get pissed thinking about the cheater. You clench your knuckles. But you wince and loosen it a moment later.

"Yeah, well, he fucking deserved it," you scoff. "Plus, I'm not the one with the broken bone."

Chaewon glares hard at you before sighing. She moves to sit down, but you prevent her from doing so with your foot. You smirk at her. She pushes your foot away and tries to sit down. But you do it again. She huffs at you and you laugh. It hurts. You think you cracked one of your ribs.

"I haven't cleaned it yet, Princess," you reason out.

"Then where the hell am I supposed to sit?"

You shrug. Her scowl deepens.

"Kim Minjoo!"

You laugh and just pat on your lap. You see the exact moment she understands what you're trying to say and it makes you laugh again. But it quickly stops when she does sit on your lap with a huff and—wow, you didn't think she would actually do it. 

"There. You happy now?” She scowls at you. It turns into a soft giggle when she sees the expression on your face. "Didn't expect it did you?"

"No," you dumbly breathe out.

Chaewon hums in response. Her hands reach out to the cut on your lip. It's still bleeding. You haven't really had time to treat all your wounds. You watch her as she gingerly touches it. You hiss out in pain and she quickly pulls back her hand. 

“Sorry," she apologizes.

"It's fine." You smile at her.

She opens her bag and pulls out a first aid kit. You watch as she pulls out various things from it. She cleans out your cuts with water and puts a bit of ointment on them before bandaging it up. She treats every wound she can get to.

"I didn't know you knew first aid."

"I searched it up."

Neither of you says anything else. You watch her and she concentrates on treating your wounds. You notice a red flower on her top. You recognize that one. It's a carnation. You smell mint again.

"I won't thank you," she whispers to you.

"That's fine."

You hate Kim Chaewon.

(You know you're lying.)

)

//

3.

You hate her. You absolutely hate Kim Minjoo. She's the most annoying person on the surface of this planet. You would probably throw a party if she were to suddenly disappear from existence. She calls you Princess every single freaking time—at least she stopped calling you Kim—which pisses you off. Those daily pick-up lines she _still_ does makes your days worse. 

But when you see the single red carnation in your locker. You don't find yourself hating her as much. What you do hate though is the breathlessness you get when you see the flowers. You don't even understand why it happens. It just does.

Another weird thing is that you keep smelling jasmine whenever you see it. For God's sake, it's a freaking carnation. Shouldn't you be smelling that instead of jasmine?

(

You don't know what to think. There's a single stem of a red flower in your locker. You pick it up and look at it more carefully. It's a carnation. You don't know your flowers well, but it's a relatively famous flower. You know what it looks like.

You rack your brain on who could send it. Your first thought goes to Baekyeon, but you quickly dismiss it. Maybe one of your past boyfriends? Jongsun? You did part with him in friendly terms. Maybe he wants to get back together? But then you remember that he just got a new girlfriend recently. Maybe it's someone new?

"Like the flower, Princess?” You hear a voice next to you.

It's Minjoo. Your first instinct is to scowl. So, you do. But really you don't know what to think. Minjoo sent you the flower? Suddenly this makes everything much more complicated. Why did she send it? What is trying to tell you with this? Is this a prank of hers or something?

"I saw this yesterday. Reminded me of you, Princess.” She looks so smug and proud. It's annoying, but you're way too panicked to pay attention to that.

Suddenly you're reminded back to a few weeks ago to under the bleachers. Particularly, to what she said back then.

_"You're beautiful."_

And in that panic, you squish the flower in your hands. Everything is quiet. The flower head is on the floor and the stem is in pieces. Your heart drops to your stomach. _Oh, no._ You quickly glance up to her face. Words of apology are already on your tongue. She wasn't even being annoying. She was being nice and you just ruined it.

But she laughs. She laughs so mirthfully, and you're just standing there looking at her like a mad woman. You just destroyed her gift for you and she's laughing? Shouldn't she be—you know— _mad_?

"Why... Why are you laughing?"

"Well, it's just so _you_ ," she explains with a grin. And it just leaves you more confused than ever.

"But I just destroyed your gift!"

"It's fine," she smiles at you and you don't like how it constricts your chest. Then the smell of jasmine fills your lungs, and you become even more confused. "I'll just get you another one."

(Hyewon and the others often ask you where you get the flowers from. You don't know what to tell them. You would rather be dead than admit that you get them from Minjoo. You hate her (You don't). So, you just tell them that. 

"I don't know," you lied right through your teeth. "They're just there when I open it."

"We should probably pay them!” Yena once joked. "You look so happy when you get them!"

You ignore what she said. You also ignore the sound of agreement everyone made. And you ignore the breathlessness.)

)

Now, you're walking home from school with the flower in your hand. At this point, everyone knows that Kim Chaewon gets a red carnation every day from a “secret admirer". You're more impressed that no one has seen Minjoo put them in your locker yet. She herself hasn't said anything about it. But it works in your favor, so you don't mind.

You hear the sound of skateboard wheels against concrete behind you. You pay no attention to that. Probably just some hipster guy. But you start smelling jasmine again, and you're about to look around for the source. You don't get to though. A hand taps your shoulder, and you see her. You've forgotten all about it.

All your attention put to the girl in front of you. You raise an eyebrow at her.

"Aren't you supposed to be a nerd?"

"What? Nerds can't skate?” She grins. You roll your eyes at her. She goes ahead of you and starts doing some tricks. And while, yes, you're amazed, she's blocking your way. You cross your arms and look at her unimpressed. She skates back to you with a smug look on her face.

"Yes, while that was entertaining to watch, I have places to be."

"Aw, come on. Aren't you at least a tiny bit impressed?” She gets off her board and carries it with her arms. You see the bandage on her nose and glare at her.

"Why are you hurt?"

"Oh, this?” She points to her nose and you nod. She scratches her head. She looks a bit hesitant. "It's a bit stupid actually. I was trying to get my trombone down from the shelf. Turns out I wasn't tall enough."

"You're so clumsy," you scoff and walk past her. She scrambles to follow you.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault that the case just decided to drop on my face!"

She follows you all the way home. Somewhere along the way, you had tried to lose her. It's annoying being followed around, especially by Kim Minjoo. That kid never shuts up and you're forced to listen. You had hastened your pace. It didn't work. God damn those athletic legs. They're longer than yours too. It pissed you off so you stomped on her foot and marched away.

"Hey!” She angrily called out and caught up to you while hopping on one leg. You had paid no attention then. And you proceed to ignore her the whole way home.

But now you're right in front of your home and she's still here. When will she leave? You walk up to your front door and she's still following you. You can't really ignore her anymore. At this point, you think she might actually follow you to your room. Maybe you should just call the police for harassment or something.

"Why are you following me?"

"Because I'm bored."

You pray to God to give you patience. You know better than to ask for strength. If you had strength, Kim Minjoo would be already six-feet below ground. You don't want to go to jail.

You sigh and turn around to face her.

"Do you have nothing better to do?"

"Well, I suppose you are considered a better thing to _do_ , Princess.” She looks so smug and you're five seconds away from smacking her all the way to her grave.

" _Disgusting_ ," your lips twist in contempt. "Get out of my sight, Frog."

"The princess did ki—"

"Kiss the frog. Yeah, yeah, you've said that before," you scoff before turning your attention to your house keys. You could've sworn you put it on the front pocket of your bag.

"You remembered that?" If you were paying more attention, then maybe you would've picked up on shocked tone in her voice.

"Of course, I did," you say matter-of-factly. "It was the first time in my life I was considering murder seriously."

"Wha—It wasn't that bad!” She protests.

"Uh, yeah. It was."

Finally, you found your keys. Thank God. Now, you can finally say goodbye to the annoyance of your life. You turn back to the door to open it. Only find out it wasn't even locked in the first place. Great. All those minutes spent enduring her blabbering gone to waste. You should've just shoved dirt up her mouth instead.

(You won't. You actually like listening to her.)

Minjoo keeps talking behind you, but you pay no attention to that. The door is open, which only either of two things. The house got broken into and all of your stuff is gone. The moment you step inside your house, a criminal is already waiting on the other side to murder you. Or, your parents went home early. Definitely the former. They _never_ go home early.

You slowly close the door again and turn to face her. She immediately looks concerned. She steps closer to you and holds your arms in worry. You'll never admit it to her. But it calms you down. You already feel safer. The smell of jasmine returns. This time, you welcome it with wide arms.

"What's wrong?"

"The door's open." You step even closer to her. You rather be close to her right now than the horrors waiting behind the front door.

"Okay?” She looks at you confused. "Didn't you open it?"

"I didn't." You clutch the front of her hoodie. "My parents never go home early."

"Wait, let's calm down.” She puts her arms around and you hate how safe you feel. Against your will, you cling to her. "Who else has the key to your house?"

"My brother. But Haewon is on the other side of the planet."

"Maybe he came home early? Summer is just around the corner.” She tries to calm you down. If you're being honest, you're already calm from being in her arms. You'll never tell her though.

"His flight is still in a few weeks from now." You look up at her. A frown on your lips. You're calm now, but that doesn't mean you're not scared. Your hands are still clutching on the back of her hoodie for a reason.

"Who knows! Maybe he's trying to surprise you and you're ruining it right now!"

"My brother is the driest person I know," you deadpan. She chuckles and you pinch her. She lets out a yelp. "We're in a life and death situation here and you're laughing."

"Don't be so dramatic.” She laughs again. "Even if there's a serial killer in your house—"

"Don't joke about that!"

"We can just run away!” She tries to reassure you. She's still snickering though. You would've already pushed her down the porch stairs if you didn't feel so safe in her arms.

"What? With your skateboard?” You look at her unimpressed.

"Yeah! And I'll carry you on my back," she exclaims proudly. "Besides for all we know, the serial killer might be waiting behind the door with a fish in his hand and wearing polka dot pants with a blonde wig or something."

"...that's oddly specific," you grimace as you imagine it in your head. "And a fish? Really?"

"Yeah," she grins. "and he'll...smack us to death or something. We'll be swimming with the fishes then. Literally."

"That's so fucking stupid," you snicker. It's so stupid that you can't help to laugh. The smug look on her face doesn't even bother you. You're laughing so hard that you have to rest your head on her chest. You feel her laugh more than hear it. Her chest vibrating from it. You feel her arms tightening around you.

"Hey, at least you're not scared anymore!"

"You could've said he was a clown instead!” Your shoulders shake from mirth, and you feel her chin on top of your head. You want to scold her for using you to rest her head. But somehow, you don't mind.

"Oh, _hell no_." You feel Minjoo shake her head. "Clowns are the spawn of the devil. If there's one behind that door, then we're burning down the house."

You chuckle and can't help but to agree. Clowns are pretty scary. You pull away to look at her properly. Her arms are still around you, and your hands are on her shoulder now. You open your mouth to say something again, but your front door opens. You whip your head to it only to see your parents standing there with two other people.

Oh, so, there wasn't a serial killer in your house. But who are the other people? You vaguely recognize them. Probably one of your parents' countless of friends and connections.

"I was wondering what you were doing out here, Honey." Your mother has a mischievous grin on her face and you don't understand why.

"You two seem pretty close," your dad remarks. And it's at that moment that you realize how close you really are to Minjoo.

You're practically flush with her body, and she's warm and she smells nice and suddenly your mind is in a panic. You can't breathe. jasmine is choking your lungs. Your first instinct is to push her away, preferably down the porch stairs, but you don't. Because a loud part of your mind is telling you to _not_ push her away, but pull her in closer. And what is _wrong_ with your head?

But then you hear her laugh again. You notice it's an embarrassed one and suddenly you can breathe again. You bury your head into her chest from embarrassment—you don't even know why you feel embarrassed—because Minjoo feels safe. You groan and really, you just want to isolate yourself from the real world right now.

"Hey, mom. Hey, dad." You hear her say, and if your mind wasn't a mess before, it definitely is now. The two people besides your parents are _her_ parents? What does this _mean_?

"I see you're already moving two steps ahead of us, Minjoo," her dad remarks and you're even more confused.

"What're you talking about?" Minjoo voices out the question in your head. 

You pull away from Minjoo, slowly. Reluctantly. You want to scold your body, cause what the _fuck_? You pretend you didn't see the disappointment in her eyes. You pretend you didn't see it cause a few moments later her eyes lit up and you're just preparing yourself for what she's planning. You face your parents and cross your arms.

Minjoo's eyes dim again, but it's quickly covered up with a smile. You saw it though. Did you just foil her plans or something? You didn't do anything though! Wait a second, why do you even feel bad for her? You shake it out of your mind and put your attention to the adults talking in front of you. You already missed some parts of it.

"Well, anyway, we should talk more about it inside," your mom ushers all of you inside.

"We'll hash out the details over dinner." Her mom smiles while walking inside. Before long everyone is back inside the house. You see them moving to your living room. You're left alone with Minjoo again.

Damn it, you missed a lot from the conversation, didn't you? You glance at her and she's already looking. You don't know why but you want to smack her face just so she's not looking at you. You also don't know why blood is rushing to your face. Whatever. You uncross your arms and face her again.

"What were they talking about? I didn't catch it earlier." You ask her.

“Something about a vacation?” She grabs her chin in thought. "I don't know, I wasn't paying attention either."

"And here I was hoping that at least one of us paid attention." You sigh.

"They said that they were gonna talk about it again, no?” She grins and takes your hand into hers. You too surprised to do anything. You just let her drag you inside your house. "Come on."

Just before you get inside, you catch a glimpse of a white flower in your garden. You can't breathe again. You think it's Minjoo's fault. She's pulling on your hand too hard. You feel the flowers in your lungs, and you aren't sure if you like them there or not.

You breathe in. It's jasmine again.

(

Apparently, your parents are closer to her parents than you thought. No wonder they looked so familiar. They were always there in your parents' parties. You were always there with them, but Minjoo never went with her parents though. The reason why you had never met her until high school.

But it was only recently that they got much closer. It was because of a joint venture or something you don't really care about that. What you cared was the next part. They're so close that they've decided to take a vacation over the summer together. Taking you along with them.

You have no problem with your parents taking a vacation and with who. They've been working hard with the company for so long. They deserve the vacation. But they don't have to take you with them. They really don't. Because it's not just your small family of four and Minjoo's family. But the whole freaking extended family is coming for some unknown reason. Which means your aunts, uncles, and cousins are going to be there and _no, fucking thank you_.

At least Hyewon would be there. She's the only one she can talk to without feeling like wanting to rip her hair out in this family. God bless that cousin of yours. She's like a heaven-sent amongst all the hungry hyenas that are your relatives. You remember the last time you met all your relatives. It was Christmas dinner and it ended up with you dumping champagne down your aunt's head.

It didn't end well.

You hate it so much that you don't even register the fact that Minjoo is practically going to spend the whole summer with you. It hits you like a car crash when it does though.

You were just there lying down on your bed waiting for sleep to come when it happens. You sat up in a daze and furrow your eyebrows. You can't breathe again. You clutch your chest in confusion. Why the hell does it keep happening? It's not like you swallowed flowers or anything crazy like that. Then why are there flowers in your lungs?

You're breathless again. Like all the wind was knocked out of your lungs.

A beep interrupts your thoughts. It's your phone. You quickly take it and open it. It's her. A stupid text about the vacation. Apparently, she couldn't sleep while thinking about it. You want to scold her for disturbing you and tell her to go to sleep. It's two in the morning. But then you can breathe again and the jasmine is there again.

It's starting to get irritating.

_'I'm excited! Aren't you, Princess?'_

You see the white flower again from your bedroom window.

You hate Kim Minjoo.

)

//

4.

It's been a few weeks since the summer vacation with Chaewon's family started. Your parents had rented two villas for everyone. One for their family and one for yours. Apparently, your relatives were also invited. And you quickly find out that Chaewon's relatives aren't the nicest people around. It's fine though. Your relatives are also assholes.

You do have a cool gay aunt though. Unfortunately, Eunbi way too busy with her wife most of the time. You think she's Japanese but you're not too sure. You haven't met her yet. Well, you have. But you haven't really talked to her.

It hasn't been all that bad though. After all, Chaewon's here. Which automatically makes things a hundred times better.

(

You just arrived at the villa, and you're miserable. You've been stuck in that car for four hours with your uncle and you _hate_ him. You wonder why your parents still stuck around with him. You're guessing it has something to do with the fact that he's your dad's older brother.

But you absolutely detest him. He hasn't said anything explicitly, but you just _know_ he's a big homophobe. And you know you're a walking rainbow flag with all the baseball hats, beanies, hoodies, checkered shirt—because contrary to popular belief, Kim Minjoo does wear things other than hoodies—ripped jeans and vans. Okay, well, you might look more like a skater girl. But that's gay. So, you're a big walking sign that says gay anyway.

Anyway, the point is that your uncle hates you. And so, you hate him back with a passion.

You get off the car and look around. It's a huge place. It makes sense though. Both of your families are huge. At least, you think hers is. Yours is just decent size and the villa is more than enough for your extended family. Maybe hers is bigger?

You find out soon when rows and rows of cars turn up on the other villa. You watch from meters away as... 20? 30? People come out of the cars. Well, that answers your question. How many cousins does she even have? You briefly wonder if she even knows all of them. Wait a second, how many children did her grandpa even have—

"Minjoo! Don't just stand around there! Help me with the luggage!” You hear your mom shout at you.

"Yeah, kid. Be useful for once," your uncle interjects from somewhere and you feel yourself rolling your eyes.

"Okay! Just wait a sec!” You answer your mom before quickly searching the other family again. Hoping to catch a glimpse of orange hair.

You find her. She's standing in a corner. Looking at her relatives with a scowl on her face. It makes you chuckle, and you smell mint. You turn back and walk to your mom. She looks at you knowingly. You just grin at her and haul the luggage inside.

(You missed the glance she gives your way.)

)

Right now, you're just lying down on your bed. You've been lazing around the whole afternoon. This week is where everyone could do anything they want to do. Go out to town or hang out on the private beach or anything really. It's only been one day of freedom and you already don't know what to do.

There is a gaming console in your room. You try not to think about how much richer Chaewon's family is than yours. You're pretty sure you'll get a headache if you try to search up their net value. Too many zeros.

You already played with it this morning. You've been playing it since you got here actually, and you've been slowly completing an RPG in your free time away from everyone. You just finished it. The other games aren't interesting and there is 'Mario Party' which you always find entertaining, but you can't exactly play it alone.

You sigh and groan. Isn't there something better to do? You can't bother Chaewon either. She's hanging out with her cousin right now.

Your gaze lands on your phone. Maybe a little text won't hurt?

Typing up a quick message of boredom, you patiently wait for her to reply. Texting Chaewon is always a gamble. There's a chance that she might reply in two seconds, and there's a chance that you'll be left on read. There is no in between. You beg to the Gods you don't believe in for it to be the former. You're literally on your knees with your hands clasped in front of your phone.

When the screen comes alive, you jump up and dive to your phone.

She replied.

Immediately you have a stupid grin on your face. You know you're smitten for the girl. You've known since the red carnations bloomed in your lungs in spring. There are flowers and mint in every breath you take. You like them there.

She told you to stop bothering her. You chuckle. You imagine her scowling as she sends it. You tell her that you can't stop. You're too bored. You laugh when she sends one middle finger emoticon. You ask her if she's still with her cousin. It seems like they're returning back to their villa. You ask—beg her to go to yours instead. Making promises of entertaining her while you do so.

She leaves you on read.

You pout and shrug. It was worth asking. You glance at the clock. It's just a few minutes past three. You plop down back on your bed. Maybe you should take a nap. You've got nothing better to do anyway. You worm your way into the covers and close your eyes.

You let your mind wander.

You haven't given her any red carnations lately you realize. Summer break happened and you couldn't really give it to her discreetly. Unless you mail to her house, it seems a bit excessive though. The whole vacation thing with the families makes it hard too. You think of going to the flower shop in the city tomorrow. You'll leave it in front of her bedroom door or something. 

You'll work out the logistics tomorrow.

In the back of your mind, you are aware that your feelings for her are useless. She is, after all, straight. You haven't heard of her dating girls in the past. She also said it a few times. But you try not to think of it. It'll only be detrimental to your mind if you think about it too much. You just want to enjoy this feeling as it remains.

You're already fine with how things are between the two of you right now.

You know you should try to crush the feelings down. Stomping down on the flower in your chest. You know it's too late though. That's why you don't try. It's a meadow inside your lungs.

Turning sideways, you tuck your arm under the pillow.

There's a tiny spark of hope in the back of your mind. That maybe, just maybe, she feels the same as you. Memories of spring come to you. Her touches and her soft gaze. You smile languidly as you remember the smile on her face. The feeling of her in your arms. She's so soft and small. You want to kiss her.

You're about to fall asleep to orange hair and the faint smell of mint when a knock resounds on your door. You sit up drowsily and drag your feet across the room. You open the door and the mint is suddenly ubiquitously all around you. She's here.

"Were you sleeping?” She looks unimpressed at you. Her arms crossed. "And you were the one who invited me."

You just look at her dumbly. Did you miss a text or something? Why is she here?

"Hello?” She waves a hand in front of your face. "Earth to Minjoo? You there, loser?"

"You're here," you stupidly say.

"You told me to come here, didn't you?” She raises an eyebrow at you.

You didn't know the flowers could multiply. It does though. Your chest feels full and warm. Like the sun is shining down on the meadow. You grin at her and pick her up from the ground. She lets out a yelp and you laugh. There's a death grip on your shoulders. It hurts a bit, but you don't mind. You carry her inside your room. Closing the door with your foot. She's still complaining and you're just listening with a big smile.

_She's here._

You spin her around a few times and she screams. While you're just too busy laughing. She slaps your shoulders a multiple of times. Her legs around your waist. You hold her tightly. When you do finally set her down on your bed, and she huffs at you.

"When you said I wouldn't get bored, this was _not_ what I had in mind."

"What _did_ you have in your mind?” You plop down next to her.

"I don't know.” She shrugs. "Playing games, I guess."

"You wanna play Mario Party with me?” Your eyes twinkle with the idea.

"You mean the game that ruins friendships?"

"And families," you remark. You walk over to the tv set-up and turn everything on. "Wait, isn't that Monopoly? Whatever. It'll be fine. You hate me anyway. Our relationship can't be worse."

You have your back turned away from her. You didn't see how she winced when you said those words so nonchalantly. You just focus on finding the game.

Once you're done setting things up, you look around your room. There's a slight problem. When you were playing by yourself you just sat on the floor. The TV is way too far and too low to be playing on the bed. You wonder if Chaewon would want to sit on the floor with you. You're not a slob, but it is the _floor_.

You sit down on the floor. You back resting against the foot of your bed. You hand out her controller out for her. Chaewon takes it and looks around for a moment. Maybe it would be better to play on the bed instead. You open your mouth to suggest it. But then she sits down on your lap and you quickly shut up. Her back leaning against your chest.

You're way too shocked to do anything. She must've gotten confused when the game doesn't start. Plus, you've been quiet for a few minutes. So, she looks back at you and _wow_ , her face is so close. When she sees you looking blankly at her, she giggles softly again. You take a deep breath. When did you even started to hold your breath?

“Surprised?” She asks you with an eyebrow raised. "I thought you didn't want the Princess to sit on the dirty floor?"

"I—you—" you groan and your head softly thumps against the bed. "You're killing me, Princess."

"Just start the game, dork.” She laughs.

"Whatever the Princess wants."

You press start and the game starts. You're rolling the dice to decide the order of your turns. You're going second, and Chaewon's going third. The computer got the first turn. You're both watching the computer play when she leans even further into you. You feel your heart soaring. You wonder if she can hear how fast your heart is beating.

"I don't hate you, you know," she softly tells you. Her forehead resting on your jaw.

"I know." You tighten your hold on her.

Once you do actually start playing the game together, you are surprised. You're playing against each other, and she's way better than you thought. One of the other things Kim Minjoo is proud of is being unbeatable in Mario Party. People might think that it's just a game of chance, but you know better than that. It's a strategy game.

You've been the reigning winner of Mario Party amongst your friends. But it seems like Kim Chaewon is going after your crown.

"What?! No!” You shout in agony as she steals a star right before your eyes. She laughs at your reaction and proceeds to stomp on your character. You watch in horror as your coins escape you. You whine to her. "Why are you doing this to me!"

"I'm the bad guy.” She rolls her eyes playful. "Duh."

"No, you're not," you immediately say. You don't know why. But there's something about that sentence and the way she says it rubs you the wrong way. "Why would you say that?"

Kim Chaewon is not the bad guy. Most definitely not. She may be annoying and mean sometimes, but she's not evil. You know for a fact that she's one of the nicest people around. You don't treat the wounds of the person you hate just because. She has a heart of gold.

She looks at you a bit shocked.

"I am though?” She says it like it’s a normal thing, and you hate it because you know she's not only talking about the game. "Everyone hates me at school for a reason, Minjoo."

"They don't hate you." You frown.

"Uh, yeah, they do," she scoffs. "Why do you think there's so much bad gossip about me?"

"They're not true though."

"They're not. But I'm still the bad guy.” She shrugs.

For the first time, you notice how heavy her shoulders look. How long has the weights been there for her to be so nonchalant about it? For her to treat it as something normal? Your chest feels heavy along with it.

"You're not though." You pull her in closer. She's small, but she looks even smaller right now. Her forehead creases.

"Oh, please. Girls go up to me all the time saying I stole their guy. I use my family's influence whenever I want. My boyfriend cheated on me with another girl because I was annoying him." Her hands clutch on your hoodie. Her knuckles white. "I snap at anyone who annoys me. I even snapped at you. Let's face it, Minjoo. I'm a bitch."

You hug her tight. The game controllers forgotten on your side. You rub circles on her back. Hoping to comfort her. You feel a storm in your chest.

"You're not a bitch. Nor are you a bad guy," you sternly tell her.

"But—"

"A bad guy does not cry when their boyfriend cheats on them. A bad guy doesn't worry about the person that annoys them on the daily. I'm pretty sure you also hated me back then. Also, it's not your fault that those girl's boyfriends are dickheads. And Baekyeon was an asshole. That also wasn't your fault." You feel your hoodie becoming damp. You softly rock her back and forth. "You call yourself a bitch. But I call you hot."

she snorts at that. You let a small smile surface on your lips.

"Bad guys also don't cry at pet commercials." Her mom told you a few days back. You still remember the blush on her face vividly. She whines at that and you chuckle. "You're definitely not a bad guy, Chaewon. You're a... Princess. A kind-hearted Princess who helps other people. Don't think I didn't see you helping that bullied kid in school. You're a beautiful princess. People are just jealous."

"I'm a princess, huh?" Her voice muffled by your hoodie.

"The frog is still waiting for her kiss, you know," you joke. She laughs a little at that. You consider it a win. It sends warmth back to your chest. You wish you could take one red carnation from your lungs and just give it to her. She always gets this soft smile of her face when she sees it in her locker.

Yeah, definitely not a bad guy. A bad guy wouldn't smile like that. A smile so pure and soft. You're in love with a princess, not a bad guy.

"What?” She pulls away from you. A disbelieving look on her face.

"What _what_?” You look at her confused.

"You said you loved me."

Your whole body tenses up and the hand on her back freezes. Did you say it out loud? Well, apparently, you did. _Fuck_. Your eyes search her face. You can't read her. You could never read her really. Your heart drops. What do you do know? Deny it? You don't think she'll be convinced with any lie you come up right now. You're way too panicked for that.

"Oh." You think of words to say. Anything really at this point. But you can't think of any besides the truth. And you know it's a bad idea to tell the truth. The worst idea possible. "I do."

You can't stop your mouth though and you feel like flinging yourself off a cliff. Really? _I do_? What kind of stupid ass confession is that? And now Chaewon isn't saying anything, and really, death would be better at this point.

"I love you. A lot. I realized it back in spring. But I think I fell for you even before that." You swallow hard. "It's—it's not a bad thing... Is it?"

She looks down, and yeah, you really feel like crying right now. Your mind filled with voices saying that she hates you. She hates you. She hates you. She hates you. She'll never be yours. Never. Never. Never. You fucked up. This is it. This is the moment where you regret every decision you have made in your—

"I don't know," she whispers out.

"W-What do you mean?"

She doesn't know. What the _fuck_ does that mean? But then she pulls away even further and you feel the storm in your chest becoming a hurricane.

"I-I think I need some space.” She quickly stands up. And before you know it, you're alone again.

Oh, well, that's that you suppose. You don't bother wiping the tears streaming down your face. When did you even start crying anyway? You just blankly stare at the door.

 _She's gone_.

(

You're sitting on the window sill. The tears haven't stopped really. Your head is resting against the glass. You gasp out for breath. Your hand gripping hard at the fabric on your chest.

The moon is high up in the sky. You look out the window. Your gaze lands on a red flower in the garden. Another fucking red flower. You hate them. You hate how it reminds you of her. You hate how it hurts your chest. Most of all, you hate how it makes it easier to breathe.

The red carnations had turned into red roses, and their thorns hurt. You want them out. You don't want them there anymore. You hate them there.

You hate how you can still smell the mint clearly in every breath.

You hate Kim Chaewon.

(You hate how you can't.)

)

//

5.

You feel awful. There's an uncomfortable feeling in your chest, and you can't get rid of it. It's been there since last night. It's been there since you left her.

You're walking on the beach alone right now. Your body feels heavy though and all you want is to just go back to bed. But you can't. Because you're smelling jasmine everywhere and it suffocates you even more. Your chest is tight and you think there are thorns in there.

At least you won't smell the jasmine here.

Is was what you thought. You thought wrong. It's still here. It's ubiquitous you realize. It'll always be there. Doesn't matter where you go. You can't even really smell the sea. Even when you're literally next to it. It's just jasmine. It's always jasmine.

You wonder when the occasional whiff of jasmine become so frequent. You know when it became a constant though. Last night.

You sigh. You remember the things that happened last night. You were just playing together, and then the conversation turned serious. You smile when you remember what she said. You wonder how a few words could free her so easily. Afterward, she told you that—

_"I love you."_

You clutch on your chest. It's painful. It feels like there are thorny vines constricting on your chest. You don't even know why it hurts this much.

No, you do know why. It's because of the scared look on her face as she confesses it. It's because of look of pure hurt on her face after you told her you needed your space. You almost regret saying that in the first place. Almost because you _do_ need your space. You need to think.

You've never been this confused your whole life. You know you're straight. That was one of the constant things in your life. You were always attracted to boys. You've never spared girls a second glace like that. You don't like girls. You're straight. You like boys.

Yet why does it sound like a lie even to herself?

Minjoo complicates a lot of things in her life. She puts flowers in your lungs and you can't breathe with them there. But then she makes it easier to breathe whenever she's near. She's the most annoying person you know. Yet you don't want her to stop talking. You want to push her down a cliff and keep her close at the same time.

Your feelings are so contradicting that it makes your head hurt.

Now, she's making you question things about yourself that had been the same all throughout your life. And honestly, you're scared.

You hate it. You hate Kim Minjoo for making you like this.

Do you like girls? You're very sure that you don't. But then you think of her again and suddenly it's a maybe. You think of her. You can't stop yourself, and you hate it. You think of soft smiles and hoodies. Warmth and a chuckle. A goofy grin and skateboards.

You can breathe again.

Okay, so, _maybe_ you're not as straight as you thought you were. But you still like guys though. Which makes you...bisexual? Right, so, you're bi. You're not straight. Okay.

 _Okay_.

You take a deep breath. You don't know how long you've been walking, but you've reached the end of the private beach. You notice how your feet hurt a little bit. You should probably start going back. The sun is about to set anyway.

Do you love her back though? Maybe.

You know that you're at least attracted to her. She did make you realize you're not straight after all. But are you in love with her? Because she is and you need to answer her with something.

You try to think of how you feel around her. You've never felt the butterflies. But you panic a lot around her. Does that count? If anything, really, what you feel around her is safety. She's probably the only person who can make you _that_ feel safe. Like no one could hurt you.

(You can still be scared around her though. But at that point, it's more of fear for her. What if she gets hurt kind of thing.)

Then there's also the matter of the white flowers in your lungs. Why is there in the first place? Not to mention the damned jasmine. You don't remember when the flowers bloomed in your lungs. Maybe in spring? You don't know. When you had noticed, they were already _there_.

Ever since you noticed them, you started to notice white flowers everywhere. You always think back to her whenever you spot it. Especially when it's a white carnation. The flowers in your lungs get rowdy whenever you see one of them in the real world.

You're back at the villa. Walking through the garden, your gaze lands on a white flower. Speak of the devil, it's a white carnation. It's pretty. The sun is setting too so it makes it even more beautiful. You kind of wish Minjoo was here to see it because it's literally her in flower form and you really want to show it to—oh.

So, that's why the carnations are in your lungs.

You do love her.

Now that you think about it. It makes sense why you keep smelling jasmine instead of the actual carnations. Minjoo smells like jasmine.

You're a big idiot. God damn, how blind were you?

Whatever that doesn't matter right now. You just need to see Minjoo right now. You have to see her. Your legs are already going in the direction of her room. But then you stop yourself for a moment. You've been out in the sun for god knows how long. You're sweating and you need a shower. You are _not_ about to confess your love for her when you're icky.

So, you quickly go to your room. The moment you enter your room though. You freeze. There's a red carnation sitting on your bed. Your chest tightens again but it doesn't hurt this time and if anything, it gives you a sense of euphoria. You walk to your bed and gingerly hold it in your hand. There's a note beside it.

 _'I don't know if this will make a difference, but I'll try anyway_.

_I love you, Kim Chaewon_  
_Flowers bloom in my lungs_  
_And the air smells of mint_

_You're warm and soft_  
_You're the sun_  
_A small sun that I can hold_

_I love you_  
_And I'll play the fool_  
_If it'll make flowers bloom in your lungs'_

A sob escapes your lips as you read the note. She just had to make you fall in love with her even more, didn't she? Now you don't even care about the state you're in. You have to see her. Now.

Okay, well, maybe you still do care a bit. Because you do wash your face and quickly change into another outfit before running out of your room. You dial her number as you power walk your way to her villa. The red carnation gripped in your hand.

You vaguely see your parents and hers talking about you from the corner of your eyes. But you pay no attention to that. Your phone is still ringing. God damn it, pick up the phone Kim Minjoo. Then the ringing stops and the operator's voice comes through. You have half a mind to curse them but you just pocket your phone. Even if she isn't actually in her room, you'll just stay in there until she does come back.

You are _determined_.

You knock on her door loudly. You cross your arms and tap your foot impatiently. You've been separated from Minjoo for too long already. You just want to see her already. There's a noise on the other side of the door. Okay, so she is in her room. At least you won't have to wait until she comes back.

The door finally opens, and wow, you've really underestimated how much you love her. The flowers in your lungs are going crazy and you can't take it anymore. You practically tackle her into a hug. You bury your head into her chest and everything feels right again.

You'll never curse at jasmine again. You swear. Because you're home now and home smells like jasmine.

You feel her hesitant hands go around you. You can hear her heart beating loudly in her chest. It puts a smile on your face.

"C-Chaewon?” You hear her hesitantly ask you. There's a tint of hope in her voice.

"I love you," you say into her chest. It's a bit muffled but you know she heard it judging from how she tightens her hold on you.

"You do?" there's a lilt to her voice. You know she's grinning right now. You nod and the next thing you know you're in the air. A yelp escapes you. Really, at this point, you should've known she would do this.

"Kim Minjoo!” You shout. "Put me down!"

"No can do, Princess!” She's laughing so much mirth and you don't have the heart to put a stop to that. So, you just let her do what she wants. You're laughing along with her anyway.

Minjoo closes the door with her foot just like yesterday, and like yesterday, she spins you again in her room. You cling to her shoulders and put your legs around her waist. But you know she won't let you fall anyway. When she does finally stop spinning you, she doesn't put you down like yesterday. She keeps carrying you and there's this goofy smile on her face. You smile back.

"I love you," she suddenly says.

"I love you too." You softly bump your foreheads together.

"Are you my girlfriend now?" There's an emotion in her eyes. You know it's affection. You think you look the same right now.

"Mhmm."

She bumps her nose against yours and there's a question in her eyes. As if she needs to ask, but you give her a small nod anyway. She gets an excited look on her face. Which is so adorable and why didn't you realize you were in love earlier? Everything she does is so endearing now, and life is so much better when you're not pissed at her every five seconds.

She closes the distance. You don't feel sparks going off or anything grand like that. But you do feel warm. _Oh so warm_. It feels like the sun is in your chest and the flowers are dancing happily in the meadow. Minjoo said that you are her sun. She's yours too.

You pull away for breath but she chases after your lips. You just smile into it. You cup her face. Your thumb caressing her cheek. This should happen more often. Maybe you should make daily kissing a rule in the relationship. You don't think she'll object to it anyway.

"The princess kissed the frog in the end, didn't she?" It's the first thing that she says after your little make-out session and never mind, you still get pissed at her every five seconds after all.

" _Oh my god_ , shut up, loser." You roll your eyes. "We're having a moment here."

"I'm your loser though.” She grins so widely that you can't find it in yourself to be annoyed for long.

"I hate you. I regret everything. I want a refund." The harshness of your words lessens with the grin on your own lips. She laughs and you laugh with her.

"No, you don't."

"Yeah, I don't." You just close the distance again and she happily accepts the kiss.

(

You're lying down on her chest, and you bury your face into her neck. There's jasmine everywhere again. But you don't mind it. You can breathe just fine anyway. You sigh in bliss.

Flowers bloomed in your chest because of her, and you've never been so thankful. You hear the thump of her heart. You wonder if she has flowers in her lungs too. You wonder what they are. Maybe it's the red carnations she's been sending you. And if there are, you're just glad that you made them bloom.

You love her, and she loves you

)


End file.
